Media Overweights Business ByDesign
posted Wednesday, 16 September 2009
OK. Had he to do it all over again, then SAP CEO Henning Kagermann might re-think his infamous Business ByDesign announcement in 2007 as "the most important announcement I've made in my career." Struck me then as very un-SAP. But does this ostensibly hyperbolic slip warrant the tidal wave of media attention SAP gets every time it makes a public utterance regarding its fledgling on-demand product?
Most recently, at a company event in London on Thursday, September 10, SAP executives commented that SAP won't release Business ByDesign until it has enough "referencing accounts" – companies successfully using BBD – in its early adopter program.
See below a selection of articles. Some accurate. Some negative. Some sensational. All seeming to relish (perhaps too overtly) in rubbing SAP’s nose in its BBD snafu.
My question is this: might the public’s perspective on the near-term importance of BBD to SAP’s overall market strategy be skewed by what seems to me a disproportionate amount of attention (and editorializing) this product gets every time an SAP exec lets slip the "B" word?
Last I checked SAP’s addressable market is in the neighborhood of $70B. And if I’m not mistaken, the projected addressable market for Business ByDesign tops out at around $15B. Do the math.
Read SAP March 2009 Investor Presentation
Let’s not let BBD hoopla obscure a few additional facts: SAP is the leader in the market for business applications. In 2007, SAP led with 10 percent market share, well ahead of Oracle's 6.6 percent. In important segments, like enterprise resource planning, SAP had 22 percent of the market, or almost twice Oracle's 12 percent. The numbers should hold relatively constant for 2008, according to IDC.
Since Kagermann’s boastful 2007 statement, SAP’s tone on Business ByDesign has changed considerably. Much more prudent, cautious, SAP-like.
Mark Oakey, vice president of SME market development for SAP Business ByDesign:
"With us it's more important that we establish a viable long term overall business model… to make sure that we can be sustainable. We're committed to this for the longer term and we need to make sure we do the right things in the short term and medium term to get there."
SAP executive board member Bill McDermott:
"When this product hits the market, we won't have to do a lot of talking," he said. "The product and market will do the talking for us."
Roundup of recent Business ByDesign Articles:
Read CIO Today article: Troubled Times Test SAP's Strategy
Read BusinessWeek article: SAP Wants More Software Guinea Pigs
Read PC World article: SAP Exec: Business ByDesign Will Be Smash Success
Read Yahoo Finance article: SAP Waiting to Build Up Steam For Cloud
Read V3.CO.UK article: SAP Gives Update on Business ByDesign Plans
Most recently, at a company event in London on Thursday, September 10, SAP executives commented that SAP won't release Business ByDesign until it has enough "referencing accounts" – companies successfully using BBD – in its early adopter program.
See below a selection of articles. Some accurate. Some negative. Some sensational. All seeming to relish (perhaps too overtly) in rubbing SAP’s nose in its BBD snafu.
My question is this: might the public’s perspective on the near-term importance of BBD to SAP’s overall market strategy be skewed by what seems to me a disproportionate amount of attention (and editorializing) this product gets every time an SAP exec lets slip the "B" word?
Last I checked SAP’s addressable market is in the neighborhood of $70B. And if I’m not mistaken, the projected addressable market for Business ByDesign tops out at around $15B. Do the math.
Read SAP March 2009 Investor Presentation
Let’s not let BBD hoopla obscure a few additional facts: SAP is the leader in the market for business applications. In 2007, SAP led with 10 percent market share, well ahead of Oracle's 6.6 percent. In important segments, like enterprise resource planning, SAP had 22 percent of the market, or almost twice Oracle's 12 percent. The numbers should hold relatively constant for 2008, according to IDC.
Since Kagermann’s boastful 2007 statement, SAP’s tone on Business ByDesign has changed considerably. Much more prudent, cautious, SAP-like.
Mark Oakey, vice president of SME market development for SAP Business ByDesign:
"With us it's more important that we establish a viable long term overall business model… to make sure that we can be sustainable. We're committed to this for the longer term and we need to make sure we do the right things in the short term and medium term to get there."
SAP executive board member Bill McDermott:
"When this product hits the market, we won't have to do a lot of talking," he said. "The product and market will do the talking for us."
Roundup of recent Business ByDesign Articles:
Read CIO Today article: Troubled Times Test SAP's Strategy
Read BusinessWeek article: SAP Wants More Software Guinea Pigs
Read PC World article: SAP Exec: Business ByDesign Will Be Smash Success
Read Yahoo Finance article: SAP Waiting to Build Up Steam For Cloud
Read V3.CO.UK article: SAP Gives Update on Business ByDesign Plans
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